Supporting Employees Exposed to Occupational Trauma: The Role of Trauma-Informed Leadership

Abstract: Professionals across a range of occupations are routinely exposed to highly conflictual and traumatic events in the course of their work, which is described as occupational trauma exposure (OTE). OTE has been linked to many adverse employee outcomes, and there is a growing consensus on the importance of developing interventions to mitigate the detrimental effects of OTE. In this research, we report the results of two studies aimed at developing and validating a Trauma-Informed Leadership (TIL) training intervention, which seeks to enhance leaders’ skills at helping employees better regulate their emotions and cognitions following OTE. Themes from Study 1 interviews highlight the need for developing key interpersonal skills in leaders (e.g., empathy, humility, validation) in addition to training them about trauma exposure and its effects. The results from Study 2 – a waitlist control intervention study – established the efficacy of the TIL intervention, with improvements in leaders’ skills and followers’ well-being.

Keywords: organizational conflict, trauma, training, leadership, emotions